196: Where Shamans Dream

Give a damn

In September last year we came across a story about Leonard Gamaigue, a teacher in Chad who set up a mobile school for nomad children in 2019. Three years on his school, a simple open air classroom, follows the community as they move, providing a much-needed opportunity for over 70 kids whose way of life is usually incompatible with formal education.

We decided to track Leonard down. After a few twists and turns we figured out a way to send him A$5,500, which should make a real difference, given how much he's already achieved with so little. A big thank you to all of you for making this donation possible. We got a lovely message and some photos from Leonard on Whatsapp a few days ago, which we're sharing here.

Good news you probably didn't hear about

Almost all children in Western and Central Africa now attend primary school, with enrolment rising from 50% in the 1990s to nearly 90% today. Enrolment in high school is increasing too, more than doubling in the last decade to 55%. “With close to universal access in the primary cycle, the progress made is dazzling.” World Bank

Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, has managed to more than halve the number of women who bleed to death after giving birth in health facilities in the last seven years. Blood loss is the leading cause of maternal deaths in low-income nations - but it now accounts for only one in 10 maternal deaths in Niger, compared to three times that in 2015. BBC

UNICEF just released its latest figures on the decline in global child mortality. In the space of  a single generation, the number of children dying under the age of five has fallen by 59%. Four low-income countries, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda, and 15 lower-middle-income countries, including Bangladesh, Mongolia and Uzbekistan, have reduced child mortality by more than 75% since 1990.

Deaths have continued to fall in the last few years too. In 2021, over a million more children made it past their fifth birthday than in 2015. Of course, far too many still die unnecessarily of entirely preventable causes, and there is still so much work to be done. That should not however, diminish what might just be one of our species' greatest ever achievements, and one we wish more people knew about.

Amidst the barrage of headlines about political dysfunction in the United States you might have missed the news that there was a recent bipartisan agreement to spend billions more fighting HIV and malaria abroad. Global health support by the US will increase from $9.83 billion in 2022 to $10.56 billion in 2023. Vox

Pfizer says it will offer its full suite of patented drugs, including cancer treatments, on a not-for-profit basis to 1.2 billion people living in 45 low-income countries. This has the potential to treat nearly 1 million new cancer cases in these countries each year and also covers antibiotics to combat infections that claim the lives of roughly 1.5 million people each year. Fierce Pharma

The US unemployment rate has reached its lowest point in 50 years, a milestone which has been largely ignored by the media. Black workers, young workers and people on the bottom of the income scale saw the largest pay increases in the last 12 months, and median earnings for all workers were 7.4% higher at the end of 2022 compared to a year earlier, outpacing inflation. WSJ

While troubling racial and ethnic disparities persist within the US criminal justice system, recently released data shows that the gap is narrowing. Over the first two decades of the 21st century, the disparity between Black and White state imprisonment rates fell by 40%; in 2020, Black adults were imprisoned at 4.9 times the rate of White adults, down from 8.2 times in 2000.

Kenya has made significant progress on family planning in the last decade. Between 2008 and 2022 the proportion of married women using modern contraceptive methods increased from 39% to 57%, nearly all women (98%) now receive antenatal care, and 89% of births are assisted by a skilled provider, up from 66% in 2014. KNBS

Democracy in decline? Someone might want to tell that to the nearly 10 million new voters that have registered for Nigeria's upcoming elections, 84% of them under the age of 34. This will be the seventh election for Africa's most populous country since it returned to democratic governance 23 years ago. Al Jazeera

The practice of voluntary euthanasia as an act of mercy is centuries old. In the last few years however, it has begun to be inscribed into law, reflecting a significant shift in cultural attitudes. At least 25 jurisdictions now allow some form of assistance in dying – ten countries, 11 US states, and four Australian ones. CSM

Did you know that 2022 was one of the safest years ever for aviation? And did you know that 2022 saw one of the lowest ever death rates from natural disasters, and that so far, the 2020s have been the safest decade in history for natural disasters? OWD

The only home we've ever known

The Biden administration is designating the Avi Kwa Ame (Spirit Mountain) in Southern Nevada a national monument to protect 450,000 acres of sacred tribal lands. Local tribes have been fighting for this since 1999. It will be the second national monument to explicitly address its Indigenous roots following Bears Ears in Utah. NYT

More island restoration! San Clemente off the coast of San Diego is celebrating the de-listing of the Bell's Sparrow and four plant species from protected status following a decades-long conservation effort, and in New Zealand, the Mercury Islands have achieved predator-free status and wildlife is thriving thanks to a combination of ground-breaking science and local community involvement.

Against a backdrop of skyscrapers, flamingos are thriving on the shores of Mumbai with their population increasing from 10,000 in 2007 to 130,000 today. The area has become a vital feeding ground because untreated sewage has nurtured the algae that are the flamingos’ main food. “Human impact may seem terrible for nature at first glance but can also be a gold mine for some species.” Hakai

Following the designation of five marine protected areas in 2022, the Maluku Islands in Indonesia plan to protect more of their ocean this year as part of wider efforts to preserve natural resources while boosting local economy. Fishing boats larger than 10 tons will be prohibited from entering the new protected areas which are crucial habitat for leatherback sea turtles. Mongabay

France has banned deep-sea mining in its waters to safeguard “the common heritage of humanity.” Deep seas make up 90% of the ocean and are extremely vulnerable to disturbance. Deep-sea mining has been under the international spotlight since July 2021, with a growing number of governments calling for a ban including Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Costa Rica. Euro News

Volunteers are tackling Paris’s increasing heatwaves with an ancient Japanese tree-planting method that creates fast-growing pocket forests, smaller than a tennis court. Miyawaki forests can grow 10 times faster than standard forests and capture more carbon. These mini forests are also popping up in other cities across Europe and Asia. France24

Decades of rewilding efforts in Italy have resulted in the spectacular expansion of the Italian wolf population. The country is at the forefront of Europe’s rewilding movement which is creating wilder, more diverse habitats … and raising a host of new questions about what we actually mean by 'wild' in the 21st century. GLP

First Nations in British Columbia have forged two historic agreements to regulate development on their ancestral lands. The Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡI were granted veto power over a proposed coal mining project and the Blueberry River First Nations struck a deal with the provincial government to limit logging and oil and gas drilling. The striking progress is the cumulation of a decades-long push to protect vast tracts of land and ocean that now amounts to tens of millions of acres. Yale360

The Great Scottish Squirrel Survey (try saying that three times in a row) has found efforts to protect native red squirrels are working, and that populations are 'thriving' across the country. "It's a good demonstration that the efforts of our projects and also our partners and statutory agencies have been really successful." BBC

For the first time in living memory a pair of dolphins have been spotted frolicking in New York’s Bronx River, an encouraging sign that the decades-long effort to restore the river that was once a dumping ground for industrial waste is working. Guardian

We’ve come a long way across multiple decades of environmental improvement, water quality cleaning, better environmental stewardship, better relations, all of which helps the overall environment and then leads to recovery of these systems.
Howard Rosenbaum, Dolphin Expert, Wildlife Conservation Society.

Saving the world is cheaper than ruining it

Demand for fossil fuels has peaked in the global electricity sector. It will plateau for the next few years and then begin a clear decline later this decade. The key driver of this change is the rapid deployment of rapid solar and wind, driven by plunging costs and a shift of global capital - they are now the cheapest sources of electricity for 96% of the world's population. RMI

Fossil fuels sank to their lowest-ever level across Australia’s east-coast electricity mix in the final three months of 2022 as green energy overtook coal for the first time in the history of the grid. Renewable energy generation hit a record high, supplying on average 40% of the grid’s power, beating the previous record of 35% in the same period in 2021. SMH

Renewables have overtaken gas as the UK’s leading source of electricity, sparing the country from an even worse energy crisis. Renewable generation reached 34 TWh (terawatt hours) between 1st October 2022 and 13th January 2023 – 2 TWh more than gas produced, and equivalent to the same amount of gas required to heat an extra 7.9 million homes for the entire winter. ECIU

Europe's biggest pension fund, ABP, has issued a warning to banks, saying they have three years to show their claims of portfolio decarbonization are matched by action. Financial firms will have to meet key performance indicators on climate risk to avoid being sold off - reflecting the rapidly shifting attitudes of institutional investors who have had enough of the greenwashing. Bloomberg

The most successful anti-clean tech campaign of recent years has been the narrative that renewables and batteries are just as bad as fossil fuels because they rely on dirty mining. This couldn't be more wrong. A 1 GW coal plants uses 11 truckloads of coal every hour. The materials required to make the solar and wind equivalent pale into comparison.

Here's another way of looking at it. This image shows a 1,100 km x 500 km area in inner Mongolia around Bayan Obo, the world's largest rare earth mine. The mine is marked in green, and produces 40% of the world's rare earth ores. The blue areas are 219 other mines with 40 times the environmental footprint, almost all coal. Still think car batteries are the problem?

Colombia says it will not approve any new oil and gas exploration projects as it seeks to shift away from fossil fuels and toward a new sustainable economy. “We have decided not to award new oil and gas exploration contracts, and while that has been very controversial, it’s a clear sign of our commitment in the fight against climate change. This decision is absolutely urgent and needs immediate action.”

The largest municipally-owned electric and gas utility in the US, Texas-based CPS Energy, will close its last remaining coal plants by the end of this decade. “We are ending the use of coal no later than 2028. I don’t think that’s a statement that we thought we would’ve been making at this point.” Power Mag

For years, we've been told that decarbonization requires big bets on nascent technologies. This is a myth. A 100% renewables-powered world is possible with existing technologies, no miracles needed. “The number one barrier is that most people aren't aware it’s possible." Great to see Marc Jacobson getting the attention his consistent, no-nonsense work on the global energy transition deserves.

California just announced its latest data showing the state’s accelerating transition to zero-emission vehicles — 18.8% of all new cars sold in 2022 were fully electric, up by 38% since 2021 and by 128% since 2020. The state also just approved a $2.6 billion investment plan to support clean transport, with 70% of the funds directed to disadvantaged and low-income communities. Clean Technica

Oregon has become the third state in the United States to put an end date on combustion vehicles, following in the footsteps of California and New York. The state government just announced new rules requiring all new-vehicle sales to be 100% electric by 2035, with some exceptions. Motor1

And finally, did someone just say vibe shift?

Indistinguishable from magic

Geologists in northern Guatemala have uncovered a massive 2,000 year old Maya site hidden under the rainforest, comprising of nearly 1,000 urban settlements interconnected by 160 km of stone causeways across 1,700 km². The data shows "for the first time, an area that was integrated politically and economically, and never seen before in other places in the Western Hemisphere." Live Science

If you're anything like us, you've started tuning out AI news because there's just so much of it. So here's a little reminder. In the past six months, AI has:

Won a fine arts competition
Passed a MBA exam at an Ivy League university
Assisted in a legal court case
Won a Cannes Short Film award
Interviewed the ghost of Steve Jobs on a podcast
Created video content from just text input
Started an 'infinite conversation'
Passed the US medical licensing exams
Explored the ‘dark matter’ of the protein universe
Enabled a developer to talk to her inner child
Unlocked speech-to-speech translation

And all of that has been on models that are a few years old. The NYT says the next big iteration, GPT-4, will be released in the first quarter of 2023. Buckle up.

We've featured Relativity Space here before, the owners of the world’s largest 3D metal printer, Stargate. Here they are test-firing their fully 3D-printed Aeon R engine chamber at 62.5% power, producing 161,000 pounds of thrust – more than twice the thrust of the Saturn V rocket that sent Americans to the moon in 1969. We Are Mighty

Engineers in the UK water industry are developing pipebots, miniature, mobile robots with cameras for eyes and all-terrain legs to patrol pipes and find cracks and weaknesses before they develop into leaks. They're autonomous, and because there's no GPS underground, run off a system where a larger 'mother' bot carries and deploys a group of smaller ones. "We can't do this without robotics." BBC

Researchers at MIT and Harvard have conducted the first large-scale survey of how the microbiomes of a mother and infant coevolve during the first year of life. The results are amazing - amongst the findings are the fact that in addition to cells, hundreds of genes from the mother's bacteria hop to the baby’s for months after birth. Quanta

Scientists at the University of California have engineered molecules that act as 'cellular glue,' allowing them to precisely bond different cells with each other. Adhesive molecules are found naturally throughout the body, but this is the first time they've been customized and bound in predictable ways, a major step toward building tissues and organs, a long-sought goal of regenerative medicine. Sci Tech

A new Atlas video just dropped, and we can't help but notice how much more natural its movements are looking. Construction workers always dismount with a cork flip right? Boston Dynamics

The information highway is still super

Keeping it slightly shorter this week, but what we're missing in volume we're more than making up for in quality. Writer and unabashed geek Cat Valente has put together one of the finest rants about the internet we've ever seen. We know it's not what we usually share but this is just such a good example of the genre we couldn't help ourselves. If you've ever been angry about social media, or fed up with shitty advertising, or been part of an online community that was ruined by greed and selfishness, then this one's for you.

Humankind

Get in line or get out of the way

Meet India Logan-Riley, a 31 year old Māori archaeologist, anthropologist, and activist in New Zealand fighting to ensure Indigenous sovereignty and wisdom are at the heart of global climate action.

Growing up in the idyllic Hawkes Bay on New Zealand’s north island, their adolescence was marked by 'emergency moments' of wildfires, rising oceans and local council meetings where they watched community elders argue against development on their land. The threat of losing their ancestral home, one way or another, was always real.

At university India studied archaeology and Māori history and in 2015 became the second young Māori to attended UN climate talks. And after being lauded for their powerful contributions, India attended the conference the following year as a member of the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus.

For India however, the talks highlighted a lack of solutions addressing the needs of their people. In 2017 they cofounded Te Ara Whatu, a Māori youth-led initiative to help young Indigenous people reclaim a central place in the climate movement. It became the first indigenous youth organisation to represent local communities at the UN.

In 2021 India was asked, last minute, to address COP26. Frustrated by how little had changed for Indigenous communities in their six years of attendance, they issued a demand for world leaders to “learn our histories, listen to our stories, honour our knowledge and get in line, or get out of the way."

India’s ultimate mission is to create resilient and joyful communities that can thrive in a climate-safe world led. They’ve joined forces with ActionStation, an organisation working at a local level to address issues like economic fairness, family well-being, climate justice and prison reform. For India, it’s all connected.

For Indigenous peoples, there’s no way to not be involved in climate work. It just might not look like traditional activism. It might be growing a garden or helping raise our young people. These are forms of activism that keep our people going, it's our act of resistance.

That's it for this week, thanks for your support and attention, and for making the donation to Leonard possible. We are so grateful.

We'll see you next week. Much love,

Gus, Amy and the rest of the team